Currently, DNA sites such as ancestry.com and 23andme.com are all the rage and becoming more and more popular. This is not only among the adoption community but with people just wanting to know their ancestry. Why is this? People like to know where they came from. They want to know their background and heritage. Knowing where you came from helps you form your identity and contributes to the person you become.
That was the story and feelings for Natasha Brown. She was adopted at birth and was told she was African-American and Filipino. She accessed 23andMe in hopes of acquiring medical information for her daughter, who was having health concerns. Natasha wanted to know if anything her daughter was experiencing was genetic and passed down from her.
Her results answered many more questions besides her medical heritage. She also discovered information about her biological father. She learned that he lived in California – and that she has four biological sisters.
There are many positive aspects and reasons that people will start search for biological family members. For a person who was adopted, they want to see where they came from, what their biological parents look like, and their medical history. Biological parents want to know their child they placed are doing well and see what type of person they have become.
Natasha was able to travel to New York to meet her biological father and biological siblings. She also was able to learn more about her heritage. She learned that yes, she is African American and Filipino, as well as part Irish. She thought her father still lived in the Philippines, but learned he lived in California. She stated that now her biological father is one of her closest friends.
